Apple Reportedly Working on a VR / AR Headset

Apple is aiming for some level of backwards compatibility, too, it seems.

Apple is reportedly planning on jumping into the VR and AR headset wars, according to Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the company’s plans.

Apple plans to release a standalone VR and AR headset by 2021 or 2022, Bloomberg reports, with the devices aiming to focus on gaming, watching video content, and enabling virtual meetings. Apple reportedly intends to release a pair of AR glasses as early as 2023 as well.

Where’s this technology stemming from? The 2020 iPad Pro will feature an additional camera, plus what Bloomberg describes as a “small hole” that helps enable a 3D system. Apple also plans to implement the 3D system on iPhones later in 2020, where they’ll be paired with a 5G network. The 3D sensor system is described as a more advanced version of Apple’s Face ID sensor.

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Apple is also working towards making current Apple devices compatible with the new headset and glasses, with an overall headcount of 1,000 engineers working on the various VR and AR projects, Bloomberg reports. Those engineers are being led by Apple Vice President Mike Rockwell. The engineers are achieving the backwards compatibility via a new operating system dubbed “rOS” internally.

The team reportedly features executives who’ve previously worked on Apple’s gaming software system, former game developers, and ex-NASA engineers to boot.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been a vocal fan of AR technology over the past few years.

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"AR has the ability to amplify human performance instead of isolating humans," Cook said in an earnings call in early 2018, according to TechRadar. "So I am a huge, huge believer in AR. We put a lot of energy on AR. We're moving very fast."

IGN has previously reported on Apple’s moves towards developing a VR and AR device. Apple acquired mo-cap firm Faceshift, which worked on The Force Awakens, and Emotient – which worked on AI that can read a person’s facial expressions and recognize emotions. In the realm of VR investments, Apple hired Doug Bowen, who previously directed Virginia Tech’s Centre for Human Computer Interaction. Bowen was also a principal investigator at the 3D Interaction Group.